All-plastic megaphone



June17, 1969 Y M.YKESS LER 5 ALL-PLASTIC MEGAEHONE I Filed June 13, 1967 FIG. 1.-

INVENTOR Milton Kessler BYI ATTORNEY "United States Patent 3,450,226 ALL-PLASTIC MEGAPHONE Milton Kessler, 6690 Harrington,

Youngstown, Ohio 44512 Filed June 13, 1967, Ser. No. 645,647 Int. Cl. Gk 11/10, 11/08 US. Cl. 181-27 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A small hand megaphone is widely used in sports events, comprising a short horn and a metal mouthpiece. The metal mouthpiece is objectionable both because it is likely to rust unless it is made of non-rusting material, which adds to the expense; and also, in very cold weather, the metal is both uncomfortable and in fact, in extremely cold Weather dangerous to place against the lips of the user, so that users are inclined to hold the megaphone slightly away from their mouth in use, thus greatly reducing its efiicicncy. The present invention provides an inexpensive megaphone suitable [for mass production, in which the metal mouthpiece is replaced by a plastic mouthpiece of very simple and inexpensive construction, which nevertheless provides an attractive megaphone, since it can readily be made in a different color from the body of the megaphone, and also adds appreciably to the strength of the megaphone, reducing the likelihood of damage in the event that the unit is droped. Since both the horn and the mouthpiece are made of plastic, the intended device is lightweight, non-corrosive, and can readily be made in a variety of attractive colors. It is also capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions much better than the usual cardboard-and-metal mouthpiece megaphones.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof Wlll clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a megaphone according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2.

The megaphone 2 is of conventional configuration, having a large end 3, and a mouthpiece end 4, the horn portion 6 being made of plastic, preferably of one piece construction as is well known in the art. The mouthpiece end consists of a plastic ring 7 having an annular groove 8 on one side thereof as best seen in FIG. 3 for receiving the small end of the plastic horn 6 the rim of which is turned out slightly, as shown in FIG. 3 at 8. The groove and end of the horn may be so shaped as to provide a [friction snap fit, so that by the exertion of some force the two parts can be snapped together, temporarily distorting the small end of the horn at the rim, so that the rim frictionally and firmly engages the side of the groove, or alternatively, the two parts can be joined as by spin-Welding, cementing, ultra-sonic rWelding, or by any other suitable known process after the two parts have been thus fitted together. The horn can be made of suitably colored plastic to provide a variety of pleasing effects, and the ring 7 is preferably made in a difierent color for contrast.

Since the ring 7 is a poor conductor of heat, the horn is quite comfortable to use even in very cold weather when a metal ring such as is usually provided is both uncomfortable to the face, and in extremely cold weather may even tend to be dangerous and adhere to the skin. Furthermore, the thick reinforcing ring 7 adds considerably to the strength of the horn to prevent it [from being damaged in the event it is dropped or stepped upon.

It will be apparent that the embodiments shown are only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An all-plastic megaphone comprising a plastic horn in the form of a truncated cone having a large end and a small end slightly turned out to form a rim; a plastic mouthpiece comprising a relatively thick circular plastic ring of a low thermal conductivity having a circular annular groove on one side thereof dimensioned to frictionally receive and engage the said rim end of the plastic horn; said groove being correspondingly shaped to the small end, for firmly holding the mouthpiece on the horn.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,100,849 6/1914 Soistmann 18127 1,941,233 12/1933 Staley 181-27 958,680 5/1910 'Purcell 18127 1,478,574 12/1923 Marr 179187 STEPHEN .l. TOMSKY, Primary Examiner. 

